Vehicle covering part and method of fitting it

ABSTRACT

The vehicle covering part ( 10 ) is provided with a snap-in connecting system ( 12 ). Provision is made here for the vehicle covering part ( 10 ) to have a support element ( 14 ) which can be fastened to the vehicle with a cohesive material joint, and a visible element ( 16 ) which can be connected to the support element ( 14 ) by snapping it in place.  
     Furthermore, a method for fitting the vehicle covering part ( 10 ) to a vehicle body ( 18 ) is provided. The method is distinguished in that at least one layer of glue ( 22 ) is applied to that side ( 20 ) of the support element ( 14 ) which is for fastening to the vehicle, the support element ( 14 ) is bonded onto the vehicle body ( 18 ) in a stable position by means of the layer of glue ( 22 ), and the visible element ( 16 ) is then fixed on the support element ( 14 ) with the formation of a defined snap-in connection.

The invention relates to a vehicle covering part having a snap-inconnecting system, according to the precharacterizing clause of claim 1.The invention furthermore relates to a method for fitting the vehiclecovering part to a vehicle body, according to the precharacterizingclause of claim 22.

Vehicle covering parts of the type mentioned at the beginning are known.For example, DE 198 24 720 C1 discloses a composite profile, which maybe a trim strip of a motor vehicle. The composite profile contains aband-shaped support which constitutes the visible part. Inserted on therear side of the support is a rail which is made from polymeric materialand on which outwardly protruding retaining clips are integrallymoulded. The retaining clips are used for fastening the compositeprofile into correspondingly designed openings in the motor vehiclebody.

The object of the invention is to propose an alternative vehiclecovering part to this and a method for fitting it to a vehicle body.

To achieve the object, a vehicle covering part having the features ofclaim 1 is proposed. The vehicle covering part according to theinvention is distinguished in that it has a support element which can befastened to the vehicle with a cohesive material joint, and a visibleelement which can be connected to the support element by snapping it inplace. This makes it possible to realize a rapid fastening of outeradd-on parts (vehicle covering part) to body shell support structures(vehicle body) without having to undertake material changes to theparticular vehicle body, for example in the form of sockets or recesses.The support element can be fastened particularly precisely to thevehicle with a cohesive material joint while the visible element can beconnected in an installation-friendly and positionally defined manner tothe support element by snapping it in place.

The vehicle covering part can be designed in at least two parts. In thiscase, the support element and/or the visible element may each be asingle part or else may consist of a plurality of components. Even amulti-part support element can be fastened relatively easily to avehicle with a cohesive material joint, with predetermined positionaltolerances being kept to. If appropriate, individual parts of thesupport element may also be arranged spaced apart from one another.

The support element can advantageously be fastened to a vehicle bodywith a cohesive material joint by means of a glued joint. Glued jointscan be realized in vehicle body manufacturing in a particularlyinstallation-favourable and positionally precise manner with existingconnection requirements being kept to.

According to a preferred embodiment, the support element has at leastone layer of glue on its side for fastening to the vehicle. It is thusnot necessary for any complex, connection-preparing measures to beundertaken on the vehicle body, since, within the context of preparingfor installation, the support element has merely to be provided with alayer of glue. A layer of glue of this type may, for example, bedesigned as a double-sided adhesive tape. An adhesive tape of this typecan be attached relatively simply to that side of the support elementwhich is for fastening to the vehicle and at the same time ensures theproduction of a reliable fastening of the support element to the vehiclewith a cohesive material joint. In comparison with a liquid adhesive, anadhesive tape is advantageously capable of being used in an assemblyline, since the required fixing times are relatively short.

The visible element preferably contains a plurality of snap-inprojections which are arranged spaced apart from one another, and thesupport element contains a plurality of snap-in sockets arranged in acomplementary manner. This makes possible a reliable snap-in connectionbetween the visible element and the support element. The vehiclecovering part is thus designed as two shells, with it being possible, ifappropriate, for each shell to consist of a plurality of individualparts. In this case, the glued joint providing a cohesive material jointconstitutes a first installation stage and the snap-in connectionconstitutes a second installation stage. After the support element hasbeen fastened to the vehicle with a cohesive material joint, with theexisting positional tolerances being ensured, it is possible for thevisible element to be fastened in accordance with the sequentialcomponent principle likewise in a positionally precise manner by meansof a snap-in connection to the support element and therefore to thevehicle. The support element thus constitutes a guiding component forthe visible element.

The snap-in projections and the snap-in sockets are advantageouslyarranged in a central overlapping region on the respective snap-inconnecting side of the visible element and of the support element. Thismakes it possible to arrange the snap-in connections in a concealedmanner with respect to the visible side of the visible element and atthe same time to ensure a favourable snap-in connection with regard topositioning the visible element correctly relative to the supportelement and to the vehicle. To this end, snap-in connecting points lyingin a spatially offset manner with respect to one another in theoverlapping region can be provided.

The snap-in sockets preferably form passage openings and are arrangedrecessed with respect to that side of the support element which is forfastening to the vehicle. This makes it possible to design that side ofthe support element which is for fastening to the vehicle to beessentially planar, so that no outwardly extending projections of thesupport element make it necessary for the vehicle body to be designedwith a correspondingly complementary geometry.

The support element is advantageously provided on its snap-in connectingside with a surface structure which increases the stiffness. A surfacestructure of this type is expedient for ensuring that the visibleelement is positioned sufficiently precisely relative to the supportelement. Since the support element has the function of a guidingcomponent with respect to the visible element, great stiffness of thesupport element is of particular importance in order to ensure a vehiclecovering part which can be fitted in a reproducibly precise manner. Thesurface structure is preferably of planar design, so that the supportelement can be pressed in an easily manoeuvrable manner on its snap-inconnecting side against the vehicle in order to form the cohesivematerial joint.

In a development of the invention, the support element is provided onits snap-in connecting side with at least one protruding receiving railin which the snap-in sockets are arranged in a completely integratedmanner. In this case, the receiving rail can be used at the same time asa surface structure which increases the stiffness.

Furthermore, the receiving rail can be used as a press-on surfaceextending in essentially planar manner, for producing the cohesivematerial joint.

According to a preferred embodiment, the support element has, on itssnap-in connecting side, at least one bearing contact surface whichdirects the visible element into a defined installation position in acentring manner. A bearing contact surface of this type may, forexample, be an outer edge of the support element, with which the visibleelement comes into bearing contact, at least over part of thecircumference, when taking up a defined installation position. In thiscase, the bearing contact surface can be directed obliquely outwards inthe installation direction of the visible element in order to obtain acentring effect of the visible element when producing the snap-inconnection.

The bearing contact surface of the support element is preferably used tobring about a position-stabilizing prestress of the visible element whenit is in the installation position and has been snapped in place. Thisensures that the visible element is positioned relative to the supportelement and to the vehicle body in a reproducibly sufficiently precisemanner in terms of position and/or shape. If appropriate, a slidinglayer can be provided between the contact surfaces of the visibleelement and of the support element, said sliding layer—for example owingto different thermal expansions of the two elements connected to eachother—promoting a relative movement of the visible element relative tothe support element in the region of the bearing contact without theobtained, position-stabilizing prestress of the visible element havingto be cancelled as a result. In particular, the relative movement of thevisible element can be promoted in its longitudinal direction by meansof the interconnection of a sliding layer while the visible elementremains prestressed in its transverse direction. The sliding layer canbe bonded, for example, onto suitable bearing contact surfaces of thesupport element in the form of a tape.

The snap-in connections on that side of the support element which is forfastening to the vehicle can preferably be undone by means of aresilient movement of the snap-in projections and/or of the snap-insockets. This makes it relatively simple to exchange a visible elementon the vehicle without it being necessary to detach the support elementfrom the vehicle body for this purpose. The snap-in connection is,however, to be designed to be stiff in such a manner that undesireddetachment of the visible element from the support element can bevirtually ruled out.

The support element is advantageously completely shielded by the visibleelement towards the visible side. Apart from satisfying aestheticrequirements made of the vehicle covering part, this is of significancefor protecting the support element and also, in particular, theconnecting regions of the vehicle covering part against externalinfluences.

In a development of the invention, an edge on the visible side of thevisible element lies flush against an edge on the fastening side of thesupport element. The edge on the visible side can be used here to bringabout a position-stabilizing prestress of the visible element when it isin the installation position and has been connected by having beensnapped in place. In particular, the position of the edge on the visibleside of the visible element is of importance for obtaining an adequatelyconstant gap profile between the visible element and the vehicle body.

According to one possible embodiment, the edge on the visible side ofthe visible element protrudes over the edge on the fastening side of thesupport element and shields the same on the visible side. In this case,the edge on the visible side of the visible element may, if appropriate,be spaced apart from the vehicle body with a sufficiently precise and,in particular, constant gap height being ensured.

That side of the support element which is for fastening to the vehicleadvantageously has an automatically centring surface contour. Thesurface contour may, for example, be of V-shaped design in crosssection, with the vehicle body having to have a connecting region havinga complementary surface contour. A surface contour of this type does notconstitute any impairment to producing a precise and correct cohesivematerial joint between the support element and the vehicle body, butrather, on account of the additional, form-fitting connection, assists arapid and reproducibly precise fastening of the support element to thevehicle body.

The vehicle covering part may be an outer visible part on the vehiclebody and, in particular, an outer covering part on the wheel house edge.Components of this type or similar components of a vehicle are subjectto particularly exacting demands with regard to the permissiblepositional and/or shape tolerances and the fastening stability with, atthe same time, easy installation.

The support element and/or the visible element can be produced fromplastic or from another suitable material. The combination of a gluedjoint and a snap-in connection for fastening the vehicle covering partto a vehicle body is not critical for obtaining satisfactoryinstallation results when different materials are used.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the object, a method having thefeatures of claim 22 is proposed. The method according to the inventionis distinguished in that at least one layer of glue is applied to thatside of the support element which is for fastening to the vehicle, thesupport element is bonded onto the vehicle body in a stable position bymeans of the layer of glue, and the visible element is subsequentlyfastened onto the support element with a defined snap-in connectionbeing formed. This method can be realized within the scope ofinstallation which can be carried out in an assembly line and issuitable for the rapid and reliable fitting of a vehicle covering partto a vehicle body. Complex structural changes to the vehicle body, inparticular in the form of fastening recesses, do not necessarily have tobe provided for this.

The layer of glue in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape isadvantageously pressed onto that side of the support element which isfor fastening to the vehicle. Such a layer of glue can be attached tothe support element in a precise position in a manner which isparticularly easy to handle and can be reproduced.

The fitting of the vehicle covering part takes place advantageouslywithin the context of an at least partially automated seriesinstallation. The installation can take place, for example, by means ofone or more handling systems in the form of a robot.

Further advantages of the invention emerge from the description.

The invention will be explained in greater detail using a preferredexemplary embodiment with reference to a schematic drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded illustration of a vehicle coveringpart according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a further perspective exploded illustration of the vehiclecovering part from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional illustration through a fittedvehicle covering part in FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of the vehicle covering part from FIG. 3, on anenlarged scale;

FIG. 5 shows a vehicle covering part according to an alternativeembodiment during a first, manual installation step;

FIG. 6 shows the support element of the vehicle covering part from FIG.5 during a second, manual installation step;

FIG. 7 shows the snap-in connecting side of the support element fromFIG. 6, on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 8 shows the vehicle covering part from FIG. 5 during a third,manual installation step, and

FIG. 9 shows the vehicle covering part from FIG. 5 completely fitted ona vehicle body, in a schematic outside view.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a vehicle covering part 10 according to the inventionin schematic, perspective exploded illustration. FIG. 1 illustrates therespective lower sides of a support element 14 and of a visible element16 of the vehicle covering part 10 while FIG. 2 shows the correspondingupper sides of the said elements (visible side 35 of the visible element16 and visible side 34 of the support element 14). The visible element16 and the support element 14 can be connected to each other by means ofa snap-in connecting system 12. According to the first exemplaryembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support element 14 isdesigned in two parts and the visible element 16 is designed in threeparts. The support element 14 has a side 20 which is for fastening tothe vehicle and at which the said support element can be connected witha cohesive material joint to a vehicle body (not illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2). Furthermore, the support element 14 contains a snap-inconnecting side 32 on which a plurality of snap-in sockets 26 arrangedspaced apart from one another are provided. The snap-in sockets 26 aredesigned as passage openings and therefore also extend as far as theside 20 for fastening to the vehicle. Accordingly, the visible element16 has, on its snap-in connecting side 30, a plurality ofcomplementarily arranged snap-in projections 24. The snap-in projections24 and the snap-in sockets 26 are respectively arranged in a centraloverlapping region 28 on the snap-in connecting side 30 of the visibleelement 16 and on the snap-in connecting side 32 of the support element14. The snap-in projections 24 and the snap-in sockets 26 thereforetogether form snap-in connecting points which, in the present exemplaryembodiment, are arranged spatially offset with respect to one another inthe overlapping region 28. The support element 14 is completely shieldedon its visible side 34 by the fitted visible element 16 (also see FIG.3).

As emerges, in particular, from the schematic cross-sectionalillustration of FIG. 3 of the fitted vehicle covering part 10, thesupport element 14 is completely shielded towards its visible side 34 bythe fitted visible element 16. The visible element 16 has an edge 36which is on the visible side and which bears in some regions (at the topin FIG. 3) flush against an edge 38 which is on the snap-in connectingside of the support element 14 (also see FIG. 4). This bearing contactsurface 46 of the support element 14 and the corresponding contactsurface of the edge 36 on the visible side of the visible element 16 areof angular design in a complementary manner with respect to each other.Provided between the two contact surfaces is a sliding layer 50 which isin the form of a sliding tape and permits and assists a relativemovement between the visible element 16 and the support element 14, forexample as a consequence of thermal stresses, in particular in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle covering part 10. As can be seenin particular in FIG. 4, the edge 36 on the visible side of the visibleelement 16 protrudes over the edge 38 on the fastening side of thesupport element 14, with the result that the support element 14 isvirtually completely shielded to the outside by the visible element 16.According to FIGS. 3 and 4, the support element 14 is connected to avehicle body 18 with a cohesive material joint by means of a pluralityof layers of glue 22 in the form of double-sided adhesive tapes. Thesupport element 14 is provided on its side 20 which is for fastening tothe vehicle with an automatically centring surface contour 40 which,according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated, has a V-shapedcontour in cross section. The vehicle body 18 is of complementary designin this connecting region to the surface contour 40 of the supportelement 14. The support element 14 is provided, on its snap-inconnecting side 32, with two outwardly protruding receiving rails 44 inwhich the snap-in sockets 26 are completely integrated and arranged in arecessed manner.

The edge 38 on the fastening side of the support element 14 is thereforedesigned as a bearing contact surface 46 which centres the visibleelement 16 and directs it into a defined installation position. Thebearing contact surface 46 is used to bring about a position-stabilizingprestress of the visible element 16 when it is in the installationposition and has been connected by having been snapped in place. Thesnap-in connections between the visible element 16 and the supportelement 14 can be undone without being destroyed. To this end, provisionis made for the snap-in sockets 26 to permit a resilient movement.

FIGS. 5 to 9 show different installation phases for attaching a vehiclecovering part 10 (of alternative design) to a vehicle body 18. Thisinvolves a second exemplary embodiment of a vehicle covering part 10,which comprises a single support element 14 and a single visible element16. First of all, the layers of glue 22 in the form of double-sidedadhesive tapes are applied to that side 20 of the support element 14which is for fastening to the vehicle. The adhesive tapes 22 arepressed, for example manually by means of a roller 48, against thesupport element 14 in designated regions with a stable glued joint beingformed. This is preparation for installation of the support element 14which is provided with the necessary layers of glue 22 (see FIG. 5).According to FIG. 6, the prepared support element 14 is subsequentlypressed, likewise manually by means of compressive stress exerted by theroller 48, on its side 20 for fastening to the vehicle against thevehicle body 18 with the layers of glue 22 being connected in betweenand is thus connected to the said vehicle body with a cohesive materialjoint. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the receiving rails 44 are designed tobe essentially planar for this purpose, with the result that aninstallation-friendly pressing of the support element 14 against thevehicle body 18 by means of the roller 48 is possible. The supportelement 14 is furthermore provided with a surface structure 42 whichensures sufficient stability of the support element 14. In this case,the snap-in sockets 26, which are designed as passage openings, arearranged in a completely recessed manner in the associated receivingrail 44, and thus do not constitute any obstruction to the pressing ofthe support element 14 against the vehicle body 18 by means of theroller 48; on the contrary, they even exert a stabilizing action on thesupport element 14. According to FIG. 8, the visible element 16 isfastened to the support element 14 with a defined snap-in connectionbeing formed. The clamping forces, which occur with the snap-inconnection between the support element 14 and the visible element 16,are supported globally in the vehicle covering part 10 by the supportelement 14. In this case, the visible element 16 is offset by means ofthe bearing contact surface 46 of the support element 14, which isbonded in a stable position on the vehicle body 18, under prestress, inparticular in the transverse direction, when the snap-in connection isformed, and is thereby stabilized in position. This working step may,for example, also take place manually. The vehicle covering part 10which is fitted to the vehicle body 18 is distinguished, according toFIG. 9, by a positionally and dimensionally stable visible element 16,with the gap between the visible element 16 and the vehicle body 18being advantageously defined on the visible side and preferably being ofuniform design.

As an alternative to the manual installation of the vehicle coveringpart 10, an automated series installation of this component may also beenvisaged. The vehicle covering part 10 is an outer visible part on thevehicle body in the form of an outer covering part on the wheel houseedge, but other components of a vehicle can be designed and fitted in acorresponding manner. These components (support element 14 and/orvisible element 16) may be produced from plastic or from anothersuitable material, for example metal.

1. Vehicle covering part having a snap-in connecting system,characterized in that the vehicle covering part has a support elementwhich can be fastened to the vehicle with a cohesive material joint, anda visible element which can be connected to the support element bysnapping it in place.
 2. Vehicle covering part according to claim 1,characterized in that it is designed in at least two parts.
 3. Vehiclecovering part according to claim 1, characterized in that the supportelement can be fastened to a vehicle body with a cohesive material jointby means of a glued joint.
 4. Vehicle covering part according to claim1, characterized in that the support element has at least one layer ofglue on its side for fastening to the vehicle.
 5. Vehicle covering partaccording to claim 4, characterized in that the layer of glue isdesigned as a double-sided adhesive tape.
 6. Vehicle covering partaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the visible element has aplurality of snap-in projections arranged spaced apart from one another,and the support element has a plurality of snap-in sockets arranged in acomplementary manner.
 7. Vehicle covering part according to claim 6,characterized in that the snap-in projections and the snap-in socketsare arranged in a central overlapping region on the respective snap-inconnecting side of the visible element and of the support element. 8.Vehicle covering part according to claim 7, characterized in thatsnap-in connecting points lying spatially offset with respect to oneanother in the overlapping region are provided.
 9. Vehicle covering partaccording to claim 6, characterized in that the snap-in sockets formpassage openings and are arranged recessed with respect to that side ofthe support element which is for fastening to the vehicle.
 10. Vehiclecovering part according to claim 1, characterized in that the supportelement is provided on its snap-in connecting side with a surfacestructure which increases stiffness.
 11. Vehicle covering part accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the support element is provided on itssnap-in connecting side with at least one protruding receiving rail inwhich the snap-in sockets are arranged in a completely integratedmanner.
 12. Vehicle covering part according to claim 1, characterized inthat the support element has, on its snap-in connecting side, at leastone bearing contact surface which directs the visible element into adefined installation position in a centering manner.
 13. Vehiclecovering part according to claim 12, characterized in that the bearingcontact surface of the support element is used to bring about aposition-stabilizing prestress of the visible element when it is in theinstallation position and is connected by having been snapped in place.14. Vehicle covering part according to claim 6, characterized in thatthe snap-in connections on that side of the support element which is forfastening to the vehicle can be undone by means of a resilient movementof the snap-in projections and/or of the snap-in sockets.
 15. Vehiclecovering part according to claim 1, characterized in that the supportelement is completely shielded by the visible element towards thevisible side.
 16. Vehicle covering part according to claim 1,characterized in that an edge on the visible side of the visible elementbears flush against an edge on the fastening side of the supportelement.
 17. Vehicle covering part according to claim 1, characterizedin that the edge on the visible side of the visible element protrudesover the edge on the fastening side of the support element and shieldsthe same on the visible side.
 18. Vehicle covering part according toclaim 1, characterized in that that side of the support element which isfor fastening to the vehicle has an automatically centering surfacecontour.
 19. Vehicle covering part according to claim 1, characterizedin that it is an outer visible part on the vehicle body.
 20. Vehiclecovering part according to claim 1, characterized in that it is an outercovering part on the wheel house edge.
 21. Vehicle covering partaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the support element and/orthe visible element are produced from plastic.
 22. Method for fittingthe vehicle covering part according to claim 1, to a vehicle body,characterized in that at least one layer of glue is applied to that sideof the support element which is for fastening to the vehicle, thesupport element is bonded onto the vehicle body in a stable position bymeans of the layer of glue and the visible element is then fastened tothe support element with the formation of a defined snap-in connection.23. Method according to claim 22, characterized in that the layer ofglue in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape is pressed onto thatside of the support element which is for fastening to the vehicle. 24.Method according to claim 22, characterized in that the fitting of thevehicle covering part takes place within the context of an at leastpartially automated series installation.